Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies plays Manchester

Fans of Barenaked Ladies are in for a Halloween treat when Steven Page, the founding member of the legendary Canadian indie band heads to The Deaf Institute in Manchester.

Steven, who is currently on a solo tour, will feature backing from musical mates Craig Northey and Kevin Fox on guitar and cello as he looks set to delight with new and old material and his trademark Canadian satire.

This is something he has gained an entirely new perspective on since moving to the US several years ago. “I’ve always had a problem describing myself as an artist, and it got even harder after moving to the US where that word has been devalued considerably,” he says.

“There was always a sense of guilt that I didn’t have a ‘real job,’ and that got channelled into some of these new songs, almost as a reaction to the mistrust and spitefulness that pervades so much of our current discourse in North America.”

Steven’s distinctive and powerful tenor is among the most instantly recognizable voices in popular music today. A true creative and entertainer, Steven has continued his artistic evolution with a diverse array of solo projects since leaving Barenaked Ladies back in 2009. Following his muse, he has composed six Stratford Festival scores, collaborated and toured with Toronto’s innovative Art of Time ensemble and journeyed across North America as host of TV’s The Illegal Eater while continuing to write, release and perform his own smart, witty, original music as a solo artist backed by a new band.

His new solo album, which follows 2016’s Heal Thyself, Pt.1: Instinct will be announced for release shortly. With his first album Steven firmly established his own identity as a song writing craftsman, continuing his tradition marrying the sweet with the tart in a way that can sound deceptively palatable.

“I’ve always had a sense of wonder about that era of Sixties and Seventies music, and probably always will,” he says. “I remember getting Paul McCartney’s second solo album for my 11th birthday, and there’s a picture in it of him standing in front of his 16-track machine in his home studio, with his kid tugging at him. I think from the moment I saw that photo, while listening to this strange album he’d made at his house, I decided I wanted to do the same thing.”

Barenaked Ladies were perhaps best known in the UK for their massive hit One Week, that came off the back of the first American Pie movie.

Catch Steven Page on Tuesday, October 31 at The Deaf Institute in Manchester. Tickets are £27.50 and available from http://www.thedeafinstitute.co.uk/ or by calling 0161 276 9350. Note that this show is strictly over 14s only.